Most Canadian men are unhealthy: Men’s Health Foundation

A new study has found 72 per cent of Canadian men are unhealthy.

The survey by the Canadian Men’s Health Foundation (CMHF) did not measure disease, but instead measured behavior to prevent chronic disease, including diet, sleep, exercise, smoking, and drinking.

READ MORE: Healthy habits for improving men’s health

Only six per cent of respondents exhibited no unhealthy behaviours, so they were classified as “very healthy”.

British Columbia was the best province, where only 67.5 per cent of men were considered “unhealthy”.

Wayne Hartrick, president of the CMHF, says in a release that it does not take much for a man to go from the “unhealthy” category to the “healthy” category.

“Think of these categories as a ladder,” he says. “Most Canadian men can move up a rung by changing just one unhealthy behaviour. They can go up two rungs by changing two behaviours, like eating five fist-sized servings of fruit and getting seven hours of sleep. It’s about having the control to veer away from disease versus ‘Oops, I’ve got it, it sucks and why didn’t I prevent it.”

The study for the Foundation was carried out by Intensions Consulting, and was conducted between April 20, 2017 and April 28, 2017.

Two thousand men between the ages of 19 and 94 were administered an online survey.